Traditional uncooled sensors employ thermal stabilization to achieve usable imagery. Even slight variations in operating temperature (e.g., ambient temperature) may have a more significant impact on the imagery than changes in temperature in a particular scene currently under observation. These sensors often use a thermo electric cooler (TECs) for thermal stabilization. Unfortunately TECs include several drawbacks such as power dissipation, increased size due to the required heat sinks, and operating range limitations due to the thermal limits of the TECs.